Administration's delays put Chillicothe in a bad financial spot

For several months the complaints have been towards the uneven garbage collection. I know it is a rude inconvenience to have one's garbage sit for a day or two. In my neighborhood, we have been spared this problem and collection seems to be moving along. The same competent folks do a fantastic job. Wondering how we got to this point?

Of course, one issue is we have laid off service workers. Another is the poor condition of garbage trucks. However, I have watched this problem build for quite some time now. In 2011, as in many other years, a garbage fee hike was talked about by the council. The idea was discussed and the council, along with the mayor-elect, thought it best to wait until January 2012 after the new council and mayor were sworn in to go forward with the increase. It was made public and there was little, if any, comment from the public in the newspaper or in council meetings. Most people understand that tip fees and gasoline all have increased.

We move into 2012 and nothing happens. Even with the desperate state of garbage trucks and the money shortages in the general fund, this $5 fee is not dealt with until fall 2012. The collection of the added fee starts in November 2012. It is beyond me to understand why $5 a month from over 7,000 paying customers adding up to $35,000 to $39,000 a month is not an issue important enough for those in charge of operating this city to act upon. In short, had this piece of business been taken care of in a more timely manner and ordinances passed, it would have been possible to start collecting the extra fee in March. Had the fee been collected from March to October 2012, the city would have had another $280,000. That would have easily paid in full for one truck and helped to keep more workers on board. Or if it had been decided to buy or lease two trucks and pay $6,000 a month for the trucks the city would have had money to ease the general fund. Out of the $280,000, we would have spent $60,000 for trucks and still had $220,000. We may have been able to add a much-needed police officer. With the prospect of the city ending the year with only $18,000 in the bank, why would city administration allow this to happen? With all the talk of running the city like a business, this is not impressive.

To add to this troubling mess, the city is doing this same thing again. This city is owed many thousands of dollars in unpaid court fees, taxes and water bills. Department heads speak to the mayor about collections and moving forward on their own. The mayor suggests waiting and bundling the collection contract. The problem with this is we have the same lack of movement. This issue has been brought up several times this year in many meetings. The mayor promises a plan. The mayor added this to his budget plan that he gave to the council on Sept. 20, 2012. We are now entering July 2013 and there are hundreds of thousands of dollars the city is owed and needs, but we are still waiting on the promise of the perfect plan that never happens.

The point in saying all this is simple: Our leadership is failing us. That failure costs us in services and safety. That failure costs good hard-working people their jobs. Now the solution being discussed after the failure of leadership is to privatize services. When we speak of privatizing the garbage collection, that is just the beginning. The same workers who do that service also clear away storm damage, salt the icy streets and remove snow. They fill potholes, pick up leaves, collect dead animals from the street and repair and maintain city buildings. They are the ones who, if need be, are putting up the floodgates. With city workers gone, the outside costs for these things will be astronomical and those costs will be and out of city control. I want to add here that most department heads and city workers are doing over and above what is asked of them. Most city councilpersons do the same. I attend city meetings, sometimes as many as six or seven a week. It quickly becomes clear who has the best interests of Chillicothe and its residents in their heart.

Connie Riley

Chillicothe

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Administration's delays put Chillicothe in a bad financial spot

Editor, the Gazette: For several months the complaints have been towards the uneven garbage collection. I know it is a rude inconvenience to have one's garbage sit for a day or two.